


I Would Call It Magic But That Seems Too Cheesy

by findmethestars (Atunenamedclara)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Harry Potter AU, Young Emma, Young Regina - Freeform, gryffindor emma, ravenclaw regina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 10:30:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8664271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atunenamedclara/pseuds/findmethestars
Summary: When fiery Ravenclaw Regina Mills is stuck with the impulsive Gryffindor bred Emma Swan at Hogwarts over Christmas, they seem doomed to spend the entire Holiday arguing. But when sparks of anger turn into something else, it turns out that maybe neither of them mind as much as they thought they did.Swanqueen meets Hogwarts meets Christmas.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok! Well! This was originally going to be a short one scene ficlet, inspired by a prompt over on Twitter. However, it turned into something a lot longer than intended, it turns out that I enjoy writing these two idiots at Hogwarts more than I realise I did. And, well, nobody can argue with Christmas fic! Not even the grinch himself.  
> Anyway, enjoy and feel free to leave me feedback on here or on twitter, over at @findmethestars  
> Merry (early) Christmas! X

**December 1st**

Regina Mills had her head bent down low over a piece of parchment when a burst of cold air swept through the room, blowing out the small fire she had conjured up in the jar next to her.   
She looked up irritably, ready to shout at whichever childish First Year thought disturbing her was a good idea, when she met the flushed and worried face of her best friend.  
"Catherine" she exclaimed "what's wrong?!"   
The blonde girl shook her cloak off and slumped down in the chair next to her. She glanced over at what Regina was working on and rolled her eyes, seeing that it was a piece of voluntary research. "You work too hard" she muttered.  
Regina's eyes flashed. "And you don't work enough! Really! However you got sorted into Ravenclaw all those years ago is beyond me!"  
Catherine stuck her tongue out in response, before diving into a fast paced explanation for her wild entrance into the common room.  
"Sooo...you remember how I told you that you can come home for Christmas with me this year..?"  
Regina nodded eagerly, she had been looking forward to spending the break with Catherine for months now. A real Christmas dinner, with turkey and crackers and tinsel and cheap alcohol and most importantly, no Cora. It was all she had ever wanted. Which was why her heart sunk when she lifted her eyes to see Catherine nibbling her lip nervously and looking shamefaced.  
"I can't come anymore, can I?" She asked quietly.  
Catherine shook her head miserably. "When I wrote to tell Mum that you were coming, she um...she wasn't happy, to put it lightly. Turns out she invited mad Uncle Harold and his eight children for the entire week of Christmas, and she told me I can't just invite guests without warning next time. Regina, I'm really sorry!"

Regina blinked back tears, her eyes burning with the effort. She shook her head without looking up from her hands, which were clenched in her lap, knuckles white and taut. "No, no, it's...it's fine." She said softly, her voice steady and, by some miracle, betraying no traces of emotion. "I'll just...figure something out."  
Catherine opened her mouth to say something else, when a voice boomed from the other end of the common room where the head of House watched her.   
"Catherine Nolan! Why are you lazing around?! You're on a week of dining hall duty because of that food fight you started yesterday! Go!"  
Catherine rolled her eyes and slouched towards the door, biting back rude remarks with every step she took.

Regina watched her go until she was out of sight. Then, pushing away her essay, she rushed up the spiral staircase to her room.   
If anybody had walked past the Ravenclaw tower that evening, they would have heard the heartbroken sobs of Regina Mills as she realised that once again, she was completely alone.

**December 3rd**

The dormitories were a mess, suitcases and pieces of misplaced luggage flying everywhere as girls packed haphazardly, trying to cram in as much as they could whilst giggling and laughing amongst their groups of friends.  
Regina wandered from group to group, nodding politely and answering that "yes, she had decided to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas, yes it was so that she had plenty of time to start working on revision for NEWTs, no there was no other reason." Nobody apart from Catherine knew the real reason she had elected to not go home for the festive season this year, and Regina intended to keep it that way.

Eventually, bored of hearing her friends discuss what they were doing over Christmas, Regina slunk away to work on her latest essay in the quiet warmth of the Library. Or so she had hoped anyway.

Shortly after she had found the necessary books for research and sat down with a fresh jar of ink and her favourite peacock quill, the door swung open behind her, letting in two students who Regina vaguely recognised from Divination and Potions Class. She knew little to nothing about them, but she did know that they had a tendency to arrive late, leave early and do little work during the short time they were actually in the classroom. She rolled her eyes. Hopefully they were just here to return a book before catching the train to Kings Cross for the Holidays.  
But much to her chagrin, the girls sat down at a desk two rows over, and begun laughing about something that had happened to them the night before, not bothering to keep their voices down at all.

Regina scowled into her work, trying to ignore them. However, it seemed like the more she tried to ignore them, the louder they got, until they were outright roaring with laughter about some drunken escapade that the leggy brunette had almost been expelled over.  
She slammed her book shut and stood up, fully intending to give them both a piece of her mind. But before she could walk over to them, the blonde girl looked over and gave her a lopsided grin. "Hi! Everything alright?"   
Regina gave the girls a once over before answering. Both of them were sporting Gryffindor scarves and hats, and the brunette had red and gold streaked through her hair. Neither girl was dressed in uniform, although the school term had yet to officially end. Regina sniffed and brushed some imaginary dirt off her black jumper, knowing full well that the action made her Prefect badge glint in the light.   
The blonde girl tilted her head and smirked as she waited for an answer from Regina, who rolled her eyes and addressed the girl.  
"No everything, is not alright, Miss...?"  
"Swan. But most people under 65 call me Emma."  
"Yes well. If you hadn't noticed this is a library. And I, unlike you, am trying to start revision for my final exams. So if you could please move this...childish behaviour to your common room, I would appreciate that." Regina spoke in a clipped tone, knowing the effect it usually had on people. However, to her surprise, it had the opposite effect on the two Gryffindors who both flashed her shit eating grins at the mention of their common room.  
"Can't go there I'm afraid" Emma chuckled. The brunette, who's name Regina now remembered from previous unfortunate incidents was Ruby Lucas, laughed loudly at this.  
"Well why not?" She asked coolly. Their laughter only increased at this.  
"Well...um..." Emma eventually choked out "everyone was packing and we were bored and we...well...we let off one of those stink bombs from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. You know, the ones that last for up to two weeks?"  
Regina rolled her eyes. Of course they had. Those cheap tricks could barely be considered magic, they were that cheesy. She told Emma as much, who retorted rudely and told Regina where she could go stick it. Regina's eyes flashed with anger.  
"Well I'm afraid you'll have to deal with the consequences of your own stupidity, Miss Swan, Miss Lucas. Good day." She stalked back to her own desk, embarrassment burning her cheeks when she realised that the entirety of the sparsely populated library was staring at her.   
"What are you looking at?!" She snapped angrily at a Slytherin with an alcohol problem she could smell from across the room, and went back to her essay, putting the whole encounter out of her mind.

  
**December 9th**

  
Regina hurried across the grounds, Ravenclaw scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, black pea coat protecting her from the light snow falling around her. A pile of books was tucked under her arm, and her concentration was focussed on the icy ground as she tried to keep her footing. Because of this, she failed to notice the stately silver owl flying at full speed towards her head.   
Hearing the whisper of the beating wings, Regina looked up at the last second, but by this point, it was too late to duck and she just stood still hopelessly as the owl collided with her head.   
Three things happened over the next five seconds.  
1\. Regina Mills slipped and lost her footing, books crashing to the ground at the same time as she did.

2\. The owl let out a startled squawk as it dropped a crisp white envelope on the floor next to her before flying away again.

  
3\. Emma Swan poked her head out of a first floor window and doubled over laughing, having watched the entire fiasco unfold ahead of her.

  
Regina stood up stiffly, and waved her wand, summoning her books and the envelope with a silent spell. She could already feel the bruise forming on the small of her back, and her black jeans were wet through, chafing against her uncomfortably. Tears of rage burned in her eyes at the thought of the imbecilic blonde girl witnessing the entire mess. Mistaking the look on Regina's face for pain, Emma vaulted out of the window, something she was definitely not meant to be doing, and sprinted over to her.

"Hey, you ok?!" Emma shifted the books Regina was holding into her hands to help the Ravenclaw. "that looked like a nasty fall, you need someone to walk you over to the infirmary to get your, um, butt, checked out?" She sniggered despite the look of concern etched onto her face, the image of the uptight brunette falling on her ass, too funny to entirely forget.  
"I am fine, thank you, Miss Swan. Please give me my books back now."  
"Nuh uh. Let me walk you back to your room at least. Make sure you don't collide with any more owls."  
Regina growled in protest, but made no move to stop the blonde girl from following her through the castle grounds.  
\- - - - - -  
"So" Emma asked as the walked "who was the letter from anyway?"  
Regina stopped walking and looked down at the envelope still clutched tightly in her hand. She realised that she had forgotten to open it after the chaos of her humiliation, and she had no idea who it was from. However the scratchy cursive font on the front gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach and told her all she needed to know about the letter she clutched in her hand.  
"Nobody. It's from nobody." She muttered, stuffing it into her pocket.  
"Nooo! Come on! Open it!" Emma pleased, eyes wide with curiosity.   
"Why on earth do you care, Miss Swan?!" Regina exclaimed angrily. She didn't know this meddling blond, and intended to keep it that way. The only thing they had in common was that they had both chosen to stay in school rather than face their lives at home. That was it. That did not give the wild haired Gryffindor a reason to snoop in her personal life!  
"Humour me Mills, don't be an uptight bitch! C'monnnnn!" Emma whined, trying to grab the letter back from Regina.  
"No!" Regina yelled as Emma succeeded and held the letter up triumphantly "give it back! Emma! Give it to me!"  
Emma looked up, cheeks flushed with triumph, to meet Regina's eyes. What she saw there stopped her in her tracks and made her hand the letter back meekly, muttering apologies.   
Regina's eyes were wide open, flashing with something otherworldly. A mix of anger, fear and vulnerability were visible, creating a combination so breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying all at once, that Emma didn't dare try to cross her again.

They walked the rest of the way back in silence, Emma trailing behind carrying the books, and Regina stalking ahead up the narrow spiral staircase, letter clutched tightly in her hand. When they reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, Emma held the books out to the brunette girl. "Well...um...good luck. Hope your ass doesn't hurt too much." She muttered, and with a flash of her trademark, albeit more subsided than usual, lopsided grin, Emma turned to leave.

"No...wait." Regina called, surprising even herself. Emma turned around to look at her, confusion on her face.   
"Come inside?" Regina continued "it's the least I can do for you, and it's cold outside and I know how lonely it is here right now..." she trailed off, looking at Emma expectantly.  
The blonde shrugged "sure, why not, I have a Herbology essay to avoid writing anyway."  
Regina nodded once, jerkily, as if she hadn't expected Emma to say yes, and then turned to the door, knocking on the gilded silver handle.

A high pitched female voice echoed around them, demanding the answer to a riddle before allowing them entry. Regina rolled her eyes and gave the answer in a bored tone, as if even Rowena Ravenclaw's brain was no match for hers. Then, she stepped aside to let Emma in, grinning in amusement as the Gryffindor's mouth dropped open.  
Emma was used to the warm gold and red tones of her common room, the comfortable armchairs and gilded furniture creating a sleepy ambience, perfect for her to procrastinate her NEWT revision in. But here it was clear to see that the Ravenclaw students had a well justified reputation for being brilliant.   
The room was lined, floor to ceiling with books on every subject imaginable, from potions to plants and magical creatures to muggle interaction. Blue and bronze tones gave the room a cooling atmosphere, despite the large fire blazing in the corner, and high arched windows gave students a spectacular view of the grounds below.  
A tall white Christmas tree was positioned near the door, with baubles in the house colours hanging off every groaning branch available. It was topped by a large bronze Raven, that, every so often, would flap its metallic wings and squawk something unintelligible.

Emma grinned, her eyes wide and curious as she took in the scene. "Wow..." she breathed, as she lent out a window to take in the scene below.   
"Don't go vaulting out of any more windows, Swan." Regina remarked coolly from the centre of the room, where she had deposited her books down and was now turning the envelope over in her hand.  
"I'll try my best" the blonde quirked, before stepping backwards towards Regina. "So...I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me about the letter."  
"No, no, its fine." Regina said hesitantly. She felt awful about snapping at the blonde when all she was trying to do was help. She had gotten off on the wrong foot with the Gryffindor, but it was clear to see that Emma Swan was just an outspoken girl with a big heart and a penchant for putting her foot in it. She didn't mean any harm.   
"Is it bad news? Is there anything I can do to help?" Emma asked quietly.  
Regina barked out a laugh, cold and bitter, with no real amusement behind it. "You could say that, I suppose. It's from my mother."  
\- - - - - -  
"Oh." Emma stuttered "and that's bad, because?"  
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Regina muttered darkly. Emma sighed and lead her over to a leather armchair in the corner of the room. She pushed Regina down and helped remove the sodden coat she was still wearing. Regina shivered Emma sat down next to her, realising just how cold her fall had made her.  
The blonde pulled her wand from the back pocket of her jeans and flicked it enthusiastically. Where she had meant for a jet of warm fire to stream from the tip of it, she instead created a miniature fireworks display of red, green and purple, which showered down over the two girls before disintegrating into nothing.  
Regina rolled her eyes and laughed, before pulling out her own wand and creating a small fire on the table next to them.  
"Yeah well, there's a reason you're the Ravenclaw, smart arse." Emma stuck her tongue out at Regina who rolled her eyes in response.  
They sat in silence for several minutes, Regina finding that it was a lot less uncomfortable than she thought it would be. Emma waited patiently, until Regina was ready to talk about the sender of the letter, and why it had made her so upset.  
Eventually, she sighed, unable to put it off any longer, and created a slit in the envelope, sliding out a neatly folded piece of ivory card.  
She scanned the letter, tears filling her eyes with every line she read.

 _Regina,_  
I was most disappointed to find out that you elected to spend Christmas in Hogwarts this year. It was one thing to find out that you wished to spend it with Catherine, but another thing to find out that you would spend it alone, in that school.   
I had hoped that despite the ridiculous education you are receiving there, you would not have forgotten the most basic of principles that I raised you with under my roof. Family is family and what I say it what you do. No exceptions.  
I, and your father, are once again most disappointed with you.  
We expect to see you at home on the first day of summer, not a moment later.  
Yours,  
Cora Mills.

Regina let out a shaky breath, somewhere between a sigh and a sob, and handed the letter to Emma, realising that she needed someone to understand, and if the somewhat annoying girl next to her was the only option then so be it.  
Emma read the letter through in silence, mouth gaping ever so slightly as she got to the end and handed it back to Regina in silence.  
"Wow" she summoned up eventually, and then fell back into the sofa cushions with a thud.   
"Yep." Regina popped the letter at the end of the word, before slowly folding the letter up and throwing it into the fire.  
"So...um.. your parents huh? Muggles, I'm assuming?"  
Regina scoffed and then laughed outright "far from it, I'm afraid. That at least, would explain their disdain towards my life and this school. Mother is, or so far as she says, one of the most powerful Slytherins to have come out of this school in the past fifty years. When I was sorted into Ravenclaw she was furious, as you can imagine. She spent weeks sending Howlers to McGonagall, threatening to bring down the power of the Ministry onto the school if they didn't do something about it. Obviously she refused, and since then Mother has hated Hogwarts with a burning passion. She blames them for my 'wilful ways' and 'disobedient streak'. And of course, the fact that I dated a Hufflepuff girl last year was the final straw. So I can only imagine the scene that went down when she learnt I wasn't coming home for Christmas this year."  
She leant back into the couch and played with her wand, sending small puffs of purple smoke up into the air as she avoided Emma's eyes.  
"Regina I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't know. I..."  
"Nonsense Emma, how could you know? Don't blame yourself for this! Now, enough about me, what are your parents like, headstrong Gryffindors, I suppose, if you're anything to go by?"  
Emma stopped lounging around on the couch and sat up straight, the spark in her usually bright eyes dulled.  
"I don't know." She said bluntly "would you count dumping their only child on the steps of a foster home in central London as headstrong? Because if so, then sure."  
Regina looked at her in horror. No matter what her mother did to her, she couldn't ever imagine her abandoning her in the cold. "Emma, I'm so sorry."  
Emma shrugged "Nah. I'm over it. They were Muggles, that's all I know about them. When I was eleven, Hagrid turned up on the doorstep of my current home, set a few things on fire and persuaded them all that he was my new guardian. Been here ever since. Except the summer of course, then I usually go home with Ruby. But her family is kinda...intense, so I like to stay here at Christmas."  
"You do this every year?" Regina was bored out of her brain here, how did Emma do it?  
"Yup. I discovered that if you sneak out the window on the third floor and go round, behind where the Whomping Willow is, you can get actual phone signal. Do you know how much they've put on Netflix since September?! I'm behind on SO much TV!"  
Well. That answered that then.

They sat in silence for a few minutes more, before Emma cleared her throat and stood up. "Well...I should go. Thank you Regina, it was...it was fun talking to you."  
Regina stood up with her, accidentally brushing her thigh against Emma's as she tied her scarf around her neck. Emma stopped in surprise and then turned away to hide her grin. Regina blushed and then opened her mouth, a burst of courage rushing through her  
"Emma wait. Before you go, I um...I was wondering if...well there's a Christmas party in the Three Broomsticks tomorrow night. Do you um...want to come with me?"  
Emma started, before a slow grin snaked its way across her face "Like a date?" She asked.  
Regina spluttered and looked at Emma, her face reddening rapidly. "No! I mean, not that I wouldn't, you wouldn't, I mean, it could be if you wanted, I mean, no, well, yes! Fine! Will you come?!"  
Emma nodded and laughed "Sure, I'll come. And don't worry Regina, you wouldn't be the first girl too embarrassed to ask me out on a date." And with a wink and a laugh, Emma Swan disappeared down the spiral staircase and out into the night.

  
**December 10th**

The following evening found Regina standing in front of her mirror, various clothes scattered on the floor around her. She groaned and raked her hand through her hair again, trying to get a stray wave to lie flat against her cheek.  
"Relax dear, you look fiiiiine." A voice came from the black and white picture in the corner of the room.  
"Shut up grandma." Regina intoned flatly before picking up her lipstick and running it over her lips one last time. Then, picking up her black clutch, she threw in her purse, her wand and her face powder.  
Satisfied with how she looked, she waved her door open and made her way downstairs through the common room, ignoring the wolf whistles of two Third Year boys as she did so.

Emma was waiting for her at the foot of the tower, tapping on her phone with a bored expression on her face.  
"You know, we're not meant to have those in school Miss Swan, I could report you."   
Emma cocked her head smartly and smirked "report me Miss Mills? How about a punishment instead?"  
Regina rolled her eyes and grinned, before descending the last few steps into the cold night air. Fresh snow was falling around them as she made her way to the blonde, and the moon lit up the night clearly, as bright as if there were a thousand footlights.

  
"You look lovely" Regina smiled at Emma as they walked, taking in her appearance.  
The blonde was wearing skin tight black jeans which showed off her toned thighs in all the right ways. A small strip of skin showed between the top of her jeans and the hem of her deep red oversized sweater which hung off one shoulder in an effortless manner. Her hair was curled loose around her head and shoulders, and she was more than a couple of inches taller than Regina in her heeled leather combat boots.  
Regina matched her nicely, her fitted maroon dress reaching to about mid thigh. A black jacket was slung over it and her polished black pumps shone in the bright white snow.   
"You clean up nicely yourself Mills." Emma grinned at her, warmth shining through, taking away the last of Regina's nerves. It had been a while since she'd been on a date, and she hadn't been entirely sure that she had pinned Emma down correctly when she asked her out. So she was pleasantly surprised to discover Emma's willingness to go out with her despite their original unpleasant encounter.

When they arrived at The Three Broomsticks, loud Christmas music was playing across the pub, and the room was hot and cheerful, full of couples dancing in the centre, chatting outside the door, or sitting at the tables with overflowing cups of Butterbeer, and other slightly stronger drinks.  
"I'll grab us a table!" Regina shouted over the crooning of the woman on the microphone. Emma nodded and made her way through the crowds to fetch them both drinks.  
She returned less than five minutes later, flushed and triumphant, having pushed her way to the front by casting a spell causing everyone else to imagine a rat sitting calmly on the bar top. "Works every time!" She laughed, as she placed Regina's spiced mead on the table in front of them. Her own drink of choice was Firewhisky, the smell of it alone, causing Regina's eyes to burn.

  
"So..." Emma started after a few minutes, having given them both a chance to settle in and sip their drinks "You come here often?"  
"Hmm? Oh, no, not really. I usually prefer The Hog's Head if I'm honest." Regina quirked an eyebrow at Emma's stunned expression "something funny Emma?"  
"Um! I just, never pinned you as the type to go there, not that it's a bad thing! Um..!"  
"Oh? You think I'm too pretty for it? Too good and well behaved? Believe me, Miss Swan, you have no idea how badly behaved I can get. " Regina smirked. Emma blushed, unused to being the one at the receiving end of a well placed innuendo.   
"Oh is that so?" She cocked her head.  
"Indeed. And if you're very nice to me, maybe you'll even get to find out."  
Emma buried her head in her drink to avoid Regina's penetrating gaze as her mind flashed to them in all sorts of compromising positions. She took a large gulp of whisky and coughed as it went down the wrong way, spluttering as she spat the amber liquid down her jumper.  
Regina jumped up and rushed round the couch they were sharing. She rubbed Emma's back as tried to draw a breath whilst the alcohol burned a path down her throat.  
When Emma finally looked up, red faced with streaming eyes, she was met with the sight of Regina Mills bent double at the waist, her laughter carrying melodically over the tinkling music.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Regina choked out "you just looked so shocked! You didn't think I could one up you huh?"  
Emma shook her head wordlessly and slammed back the rest of her drink, at a loss for what to say to hide her embarrassment.  
"Dance with me?" She said at last.  
"Really dear, I thought you'd never ask" Regina quirked an eyebrow and followed Emma to the centre of the room.

"So" Regina hummed as the twirled round the floor, enchanted fireworks going off over their heads and snow falling around them but never touching them.  
"So?"  
"So why did you decide to come out with me Emma? I didn't make a very good first impression I'm afraid."  
"Hmmmm, no you didn't really. But to be honest, I've been eyeing you for months now, I was starting to think that I had you all wrong and you were actually straight."  
Regina snickered "is your ego really that big Emma, that any woman not flinging themselves at your feet, must be straight?"  
"Yup."  
"I should strand you right here on this dance floor to teach you a lesson, just for that."  
"Oh but Regina, you wouldn't" Emma flashed her a grin.  
"Oh really? And why is that?"  
"Because then" Emma whispered, moving closer to Regina until all the brunette could see was green eyes and flushed skin and pink lips "you wouldn't get to do this"  
And suddenly Emma was kissing her and the world faded away until all there was was her lips on Emma's, deep red on light pink, tan skin against porcelain, her hands in Emma's hair and Emma's somewhere wrapped around her. Her world suddenly smelt of Whisky and vanilla and cinnamon and nothing else mattered in this moment, nothing at all.

Eventually Emma pulled away, starry eyed and bright faced. "C'mon Regina" she gasped "there something I want to show you."  
Regina followed her out into the night, the cold air hitting her face and reawakening her senses. She followed Emma down the street and round a corner, until the lanterns no longer showed them the path.  
" _Lumos_ " Emma whispered, and Regina followed suit, allowing the tip of her wand to glow in the deep night.  
They rounded another corner, and then another, until they reached a small cobbled path, far away from the prying eyes of partygoers.   
"Emma?" Regina whispered "what is this place?"  
Emma grinned and flicked her wand, clearing away a small patch of snow, allowing them to sit on the ground, and lighting a small fire in the centre of it.  
"I like to come here to be alone" she said simply "Ruby doesn't know about it, nobody does really, apart from Mary Margaret and she would never tell anybody, I trust her, y'no?"  
"But you're not alone now?" Regina queried, strangely moved to have been allowed into Emma's safe space so easily.  
"Well, the only thing better than being alone here might just be being alone here with you."   
Her gaze burned into Regina's, passionate and intense and full of something unreadable.  
And then they were kissing again and the rest of the world faded away into something small and unimportant.

  
**Christmas Eve**

"Emma! Emma!" Regina ran into the Gryffindor common room, having cajoled the password out of the Fat Lady several days earlier.  
Emma was lying spread eagle on the floor by the fire, taking full advantage of being alone in the room. Her music played out of a gramophone, one which Regina knew to be enchanted to automatically play music from the Top 40 charts in the Muggle world.  
She sat up when she saw Regina enter, arms windmilling to balance herself without falling flat on her back.  
"Regina! Hey!" She craned her neck upwards, allowing Regina to press a quick kiss to her lips before she sat down on the floor next to Emma, burrowing into her like a kitten with a hot water bottle.  
Emma smirked. Regina had tried to claim that she wasn't a burrower, but multiple encounters over the past week proved otherwise, including one morning after a night in the Ravenclaw dorms, where Emma had woken up with Regina curved so tightly into her that they could have been mistaken for a singular person.  
"Merry Christmas Eve Emma!" Regina laughed and threw a present at the blonde. Emma caught it with surprising grace and shook the blue and gold wrapped box.   
"Typical Regina" she laughed "always trying to make sure we remember what house you're in."  
"Hey! It was all I had!"  
"Mmmmm, joking, better kiss me to make me stop." Emma hummed.  
Regina rolled her eyes and leaned in, sinking into the blondes warmth.

Emma pulled away reluctantly and flicked her wand, muttering a summoning charm under her breath. A large box flew across the room, almost hitting Regina in the face as it did so. She ducked at the last minute, allowing it to drop to the floor with a bang.  
"Aw damn Regina, you ruined my careful reenactment of our fateful meeting a couple of weeks ago. Remember it? An owl flew into your head. Might have pecked a few braincells out too, judging by the stunned look on your face."  
Regina growled playfully as she swatted the Gryffindor girl across the face "open your present Swan."   
Emma shook it expectantly, before ripping the paper off. Her face lit up as she saw what was inside. "Heyyyy!! Cool! This will go so well with...well...nothing at all! I love it!"  
She yanked the tag off the red leather and slipped the jacket on over her jumper. The red of the jacket clashed awfully with the house colours she sported, but somehow she pulled it off, just as Regina had known she would.  
"Now open mine! Open mine!" Emma was practically vibrating with excitement as Regina pulled the garish paper covered with elves off the square package.  
She grinned slowly as she surveyed the package Emma had presented her with.  
"Advanced Potion Making..." she read aloud "...The Complete Guide" she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Emma! I've wanted this for months! How did you...how did you know?!"  
Emma shrugged "heard you talking about it in Potions the other week. You said you were saving up for it. I figured I would beat you to it."   
"It's...it's perfect...I'm...thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Regina kissed her enthusiastically, not caring about the snickering of the First Year girls studiously pretending they weren't eavesdropping. She kissed her for the present, but more than that, she kissed her for being the anchor keeping her grounded, for being the reason Christmas was bearable, for being more than Regina had ever thought herself capable of having.  
She kissed her because she was Emma, and Emma was all she needed.

  
"Come with me" Emma whispered eventually, pulling away "come to my room with me."  
Regina nodded and followed Emma up the staircase, every inch of her body burning with desire and an unspeakable need for the blonde girl. 

**Christmas**

  
Regina cracked an eye open, certain that the world was ending in a blaze of fire and destruction around her. But no. Emma was just jumping on the bed.  
"Get up, get up, get up! It's Christmas Regina! It's Christmas!"  
"Uuuuuugh Emma, it is 7am!"  
"But it's Christmas! C'mon!"  
Regina laughed quietly and sat up, eyeing the pile of presents that had appeared at the end of the bed overnight.  
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she realised that the House Elves had known she was in here, and she didn't even want to begin to think about the sort of compromising position they had been caught in. She shook the thought from her head and held her hands out to Emma, who threw her a present then climbed back into bed with one of her own.  
Ripping the paper off, Regina grinned, seeing that it was from Catherine. At first glance it seemed to be a beautiful leather bound journal, but on closer inspection later that day, she discovered that it shouted expletives at her every time she tried to write something revision related into it.  
Emma let out a peal of laughter as she held up the gift Ruby had gotten for her. It was a large box of prank items, ranging from scented plastic turds to "polyjuice potion gone wrong" disguise kits. It was the perfect gift and Regina was exhausted just thinking about potion classes with Emma from here on out.

Once their piles were thoroughly dismantled, with gifts including Salazar Slytherin's biography (from Cora to Regina) and a limp looking gift card for a store called Tesco for Emma (from the last ever foster family who hated the young witch) quickly forgotten amongst the better items, Regina and Emma dressed to join Christmas Dinner with the straggling remains of Hogwart's student body stuck in school over the holidays.

Just as Regina was adjusting the collar on her shirt, she felt Emma place something on her head and walk away snickering. She reached up to feel the item, and rolled her eyes when she realised that it was an obnoxiously coloured party hat.  
"Emma!' She shouted across the room "I'm not wearing this!"  
"Ooh, you so are." Emma grinned, pointing at the one sat atop her blonde waves. "It's cute! We need to appear as a couple to shock that Slytherin boy who's had his slimy eyes on my ass for the past six months! Puleeeaaase!"  
"Child" Regina muttered, but she kept the hat where it was.

Christmas dinner was lively as ever, with crackers and overhead snow and dish after dish of food Emma could usually only dream of.  
Regina was fascinated by the atmosphere, so used to Christmas dinner being a somber affair where Mother and her friends discussed Wizarding World politics in hushed tones whilst she sat in silence, picking at her turkey.  
Once the food was demolished and Regina felt too full to ever move again, Emma slid off her chair and into Regina's lap.  
"Mmmmm....no...Emma...too full, I'll burst..." Regina moaned, but allowed Emma to put her head against her shoulder after kissing her softly.  
They stayed that way for several moments, before a cough from the head of the table broke them apart. Blushing furiously, Regina moved her head to meet the burning eyes of her headmistress.  
"And what" McGonagall said stiffly "is this?"  
Emma flashed her a grin, full of charm and confidence "well Professor, I would call it magic, but that seems too cheesy."

And Regina tipped her head back and laughed.


End file.
